ANDY MURRAY admitted last night that he could be forced to miss the rest of the season after he announced his withdrawal from the US Open because of injury.
Fighting his emotions in a press conference at Flushing Meadows on the eve of the event, the Scot said he had not had enough time to recover from the left hip problem which hampered him at Wimbledon and which also forced him to miss Masters events in Montreal and Cincinnati this summer.
“I did pretty much everything that I could to get myself ready here,” said Murray, who was due to be the No 2 seed. “I took a number of weeks off after Wimbledon, I obviously spoke to a lot of hip specialists and tried resting, rehabbing, to try and get myself ready here.
“I was actually practicing OK the last few days, but it's too sore for me to win the tournament and ultimately that's what I was here to try and do. Unfortunately, I won't be playing here this year.”
Novak Djokovic and Wawrinka have already called time on their seasons because of injury and Murray may now have to join them on the sidelines, which means he would miss the ATP World Tour Finals and slide down the rankings.
“There are different views and opinions on what the best thing to do is moving forward, and that's a decision I'll need to take now,” Murray said.
“I'll definitely make a decision on that (the rest of the season) in the next few days. That's something that I'll sit down and decide with my team. But I'll decide on that in the next couple of days, for sure.”
It was a major blow to Murray, who arrived in New York a week ago hopeful that the injury would at least give him a chance to do well at the tournament he won in 2012.
The absence of Djokovic, Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic may also have convinced him he could do well despite the pain but the soreness would not subside and after a practice session on Saturday, he finally made the call.
It is the first grand slam event Murray has missed since the 2013 French Open and he will now decide how best to let the injury heal.
Having lost early at the Australian Open, suffered from shingles and an elbow injury even before picking up the hip problem, it has been a tough year for Murray.
The 30-year-old said he had no doubt that if he can get himself fully fit he will be able to play the tennis that has brought him three grand slam titles, but that he will not take any undue risks.
“I want to be back on court as soon as I can,” Murray said. “If it means that I can play before the end of the year, then that's what I would love to do. I miss competing, and I'll try to get myself back on court as soon as I can.
“But obviously, I'll need to make the correct decision and really think it through these next couple of days with my team, and then make that decision.”
Murray said he had not been risking any further injury by practising over the past week.
“I certainly wouldn't have been hurting myself more by trying to play,” he said. “It was more a question of whether it would settle down in time. I kind of ran out of time. Maybe if I'd been able to take a little bit more time off, (it would have been okay).”
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